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[Dictes-moy où, n’en]1 quel pays, Est Flora, la belle Rommaine ; Archipiades, ne Thaïs, Qui fut sa cousine germaine ; Echo, parlant quant bruyt on maine Dessus rivière ou sus estan, Qui beauté ot trop plus qu’humaine. Mais où sont les neiges d’antan ! Où est la très sage Helloïs, Pour qui fut chastié et puis moyne Pierre Esbaillart à Saint-Denis ? Pour son amour ot cest essoyne. Semblablement où est la royne Qui commanda que Buridan Fust geté en ung sac en Saine ? Mais où sont les neiges d’antan ! La royne Blanche comme lis, Qui chantoit à voix de seraine, Berte au grant pié, Biétris, Allis ; Haremburgis qui tint le Maine, Et Jehanne, la bonne Lorraine, Qu’Englois brulèrent à Rouan ; Où sont-ilz, Vierge souveraine ? Mais où sont les neiges d’antan ! Envoi Prince, n’enquérez de sepmaine Où elles sont, ne de cest an, Que ce reffrain ne vous remaine : Mais où sont les neiges d’antan !
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Hignard: "Où donc dites, en"; further changes may exist not shown above.
Text Authorship:
- by François Villon (1431 - 1463), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", appears in Le Testament [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Georges Brassens (1921 - 1981), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wim Franken (b. 1922), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", 1969, published 1969 [ tenor and piano ], from Cinq poèmes de François Villon, no. 2, Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by René Gerber (1908 - 2006), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean-Louis Aristide Hignard (1822 - 1897), "Neiges d'antan", published [1884] [ medium voice and piano ], from Rimes et mélodies, série III, no. 2, Paris, Éditions Louis Gregh et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Terje Bjørn Lerstad (b. 1955), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", op. 176b no. 1 (1985) [ soprano and tenor or baritone and piano ], from François Solaire, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Martin François) Hippolyte Mirande (1862 - 1938), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", published [1884] [ high voice and piano ], from Mélopées, no. 5, Paris, Éd. J. Naus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Claude Tricot (b. 1926), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies, recueil 2, no. 5, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), [adaptation] ; composed by Eugène Bouvy, Petr Eben, Elizabeth Walton Vercoe.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-11-05
Line count: 29
Word count: 152
[Tell me where, or in]1 what land Is Flora, the Roman beauty; Archipiades, or Thaïs, Who was her first cousin; Echo, who speaks when a sound is made Upon a river or pond, Whose beauty was far beyond human. But where are the snows of yesteryear? Where is the most wise Heloise For whom Pierre Abelard was castrated And then made a monk at Saint-Denis? For his love he had that impediment. Likewise, where is the queen Who commanded that Buridan Be thrown in a sack into the Seine? But where are the snows of yesteryear? Queen Blanche, white as a lily, Who sang with the voice of a Siren, Bertha Broadfoot, Beatrice, Adelaide, Eremgarde who ruled the Maine, And Joan, the good maid of Lorraine, Burned by the English at Rouen; Where are they, sovereign Virgin? But where are the snows of yesteryear? Envoi Prince, don't ask in a week Where they are, or even this year, Lest I answer with this refrain: "But where are the snows of yesteryear?"
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of titles:
"Ballade des dames du temps jadis" = "Ballade of the Ladies of Time Gone By"
"Neiges d'antan" = "The Snows of Yesteryear"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by François Villon (1431 - 1463), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", appears in Le Testament
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-06
Line count: 29
Word count: 172